Banknote News

Breaking news about international paper & polymer money

On 14 March 2018, the National Bank of Ukraine announced that it will stop printing and issuing banknotes of 1, 2, 5, and 10 hryven, and will gradually replace worn notes with coins of the same denominations.

The Banknote Register provides the most detailed information on all emissions of paper money in post-Soviet countries from 1991 to present. It describes the history of money circulation establishment and development in the new sovereign states. The book gives detailed information on each banknote, variations and types, commemorative and souvenir issues, security features, designers, signatories, serial prefixes, images portrayed on the notes. It will be no exaggeration to say that the author with the help of collectors and staff of national banks has compiled the best known up to now data, many of which will be published for the first time, and also data unknown to many collectors. This work has resulted in compilation and classification of the most complete information on currency circulation in the post-Soviet countries.

The publication of the Register will, for sure, reduce the number of blank spaces in the history of circulation in CIS and Baltic states. Nevertheless, the author continues searching for materials and communicating with paper money collectors, museum workers, designers and bank specialists and laymen. We hope that the Register of Banknotes of CIS and Baltic Countries will encourage you as well to study actively the currency circulation in the post-Soviet countries.

For a $7 discount off the list price of $62, use the coupon code "BanknoteBook" when ordering the book by email. Registered shipment to any country in the world is $22, so the total discounted cost is only US$77.

According to a press release dated 26 August 2016, the National Bank of Ukraine unveiled a note commemorating the 160th birthday of the Ukrainian writer Ivan Franko. One million notes were printed and will be available beginning 1 September 2016. The note substrate has Ukrainian flax added to reduce the cost of production and increase strength. Apparently 20,000 notes will be packaged with a folder and sold as a numismatic product for 31 hryven each.

According to a press release dated 25 December 2015, on 11 April 2016 the National Bank of Ukraine introduced a new 500-hryvnia note with enhanced security features, including windowed security thread and SPARK patch.

On 23 December 2015, the Bank of Russia began issuing 20 million 100-ruble notes commemorating the annexation of Crimea from Ukraine in March 2014. The new notes feature symbols of the city of Sevastopol on front and Crimea on back.

B832 (PNL): 100 рублей (rubles) (US$1.50)Yellow, green, brown, and blue. Front (vertical): Painter Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky’s “The Russian Squadron on the Sebastopol Roads;” sculptor Amandus Adamson’s “Monument to the Scuttled Ships” in Sevastopol Bay; layout of Sevastopol city; architect I. Fialko and sculptor V. Yakovlev’s “Memorial to the Heroic Defense of Sevastopol in 1941-1942” on Nakhimov square; St. Vladimir’s Cathedral. Back (vertical): Grape vine; “Sail” cliff and Au-Dag mountain; Swallow’s Nest castle on Aurora Cliff overlooking Cape of Ai-Todor in Yalta, Crimea; Khan’s mosque in Khan’s Palace in Bakhchysarai; radio telescope RT-70 near the town of Yevpatoria; Quick Recognition Code. Holographic windowed security thread with demetalized 100 and microperf ruble symbol. Watermark: Catherine the Great and electrotype jewelry. Printer: (Goznak). 150 x 65 mm.a. 2015. Prefix CK. Intro: 23.12.2015. B832 is the second note in the world to incorporate a Quick Recognition Code into its design. When scanned with an Internet-enabled mobile device, the code goes to a web site which tells the historical background of the note.

According to a press release dated 29 December 2014, on 9 March 2015 the National Bank of Ukraine will introduce a redesigned 100-hryvnia note with enhanced security features, including windowed security thread and SPARK patch. The date of introduction is the 201st birthday of Taras Shevchenko, the artist whose portait appears on the front of the note. The new notes will circulate in parallel with the current issues of the same denomination (NBU B51).

According to an article on MinFin.com.ua dated 27 October 2014, on 1 December 2014 the National Bank of Ukraine will issue a 200-hryvnia note like NBU B52, but with the signature of Valeriia O. Gontareva, who took over as governor from Stepan Kubiv on 19 June 2014. The new signature will also appear on the 1-hryvnia note to be issued on 22 December 2014.

One of the things I love about banknotes is that they provide insight into history, culture, and geography, all of which are useful in placing current events into context. With that in mind, I'm pleased to announce the first "Notes in the News promotion."

Anyone buying the Russia chapter of The Banknote Book in the next 30 days will be entitled to a free copy of the Ukraine chapter (a $9.99 value).

Selections for promotions should not be considered an endorsement of the politics of either country.

"The National Bank has not asked any private company to change the national currency design because under Article 33 of the Law on the National Bank, the latter decides upon denominations, protection systems, payment features and design of national currency's banknotes and coins itself."

The Ukraine chapter of The Banknote Book is now available for individual sale at US$9.99, and as a free download to subscribers.

This 16-page catalog covers notes issued by the National Bank of Ukraine from 1991 to present. Revised 13 April 2016.

Each chapter of The Banknote Book includes detailed descriptions and background information, full-color images, and accurate valuations. The Banknote Book also features:

Sharp color images of note’s front and back without overlap

Face value or date of demonetization if no longer legal tender

Specific identification of all vignette elements

Security features described in full

Printer imprint reproduced exactly as on note

Each date/signature variety assigned an individual letter

Variety checkboxes for tracking your collection and want list

Date reproduced exactly as on note

Precise date of introduction noted when known

Replacement note information

Signature tables, often with names and terms of service

Background information for historical and cultural context

Details magnified to distinguish between note varieties

Bibliographic sources listed for further research

Subscribe to The Banknote BookIf you collect the entire world or a large number of countries, buying a $99 annual subscription is the best deal because it's less expensive than buying chapters individually, and it entitles you to every chapter currently available as well as everything published—or revised (click here to see the Change Log)—during the next 12 months.

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On its 17th anniversary, the National Bank of Ukraine has lifted the veil over the place where the hryvnia was born and showed journalists the work of the banknote paper factory in Malin city of Zhytomyr region.

According to an article in KyivPost dated 23 July 2013, "The banknote paper factory of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) has introduced a technology for producing paper impregnated with an anti-fungal agent." The UkrainianJoural.com adds that the factory is "in talks with two well-known foreign companies in Europe regarding signing framework agreements to place orders for paper production and delivery, starting from September 2013."

"The NBU has no such plans. And did not have [such plans]… The NBU is not working on issuing of 1,000 hryvnia banknotes and has not even designed them… The NBU thinks that the nominal range of banknotes as of today is sufficient for the economy," Zaivenko told reporters.

Currently the largest denomination in Ukraine is the 500-hryvnia note (P124), issued in 2006.

According to a press release dated 5 October 2011, the National Bank of Ukraine has issued a new 50-hryvnia (US$6.25) banknote to commemorate the bank’s 20th anniversary, which are like the notes originally issued in 2004 (Pick 121), but with the phrase “НБУ 20 років” (NBU - 20 years) on the front in a green-to-gold color-shifting SPARK patch, and serial numbers NB 0000001 - 0001000.

While technically legal tender, the first 200 notes were encased in acrylic and packaged in a box containing a silver version of the note; the remaining 800 notes were sold in a commemorative folder.

Persuant to the National Bank of Ukraine resolution No.55 dated 4 March 2011, NBU will issue banknotes with the signature of Serhii Arbuzov, the bank's new governor appointed 19 January 2011, following this schedule:

According to a Ukrainske Radio report dated 28 January 2011, the National Bank of Ukraine is contemplating issuing a 1,000-hryvnia (US$126) note, which would double the largest denomination in the country. The bank is also scheduled to issue a new 200-hryvnia (US$25.15) note in the fourth quarter of 2011. The new 200-hryvnia note will have improved security features, but no significant design changes.